Apparatus, systems and methods for synchronizing calendar information with electronic program guide information

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of media devices are operable to receive appointment information from an electronic device, wherein the appointment information is defined by a time period for a scheduled appointment for a user, and wherein the scheduled appointment requires the user to be at a remote location that is remote from a location of the media device such that the user is unable to manually operate or use their media device. The media device is configured to automatically modify at least one operation of the media device based on the received appointment information that is associated with the scheduled appointment.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices may contain an electronic calendar application to aidthe user in managing their schedules. The electronic calendarapplication is an electronic version of a hardcopy calendar where theuser manually writes information about appointments into the hardcopycalendar. With the electronic calendar application, informationpertaining to user appointments may be entered or modified in a varietyof manners, such as from a manual entry made by the user, a remote entryby another party, or from another remote electronic calendarapplication.

Additionally, the electronic calendar application may provide logic forother functions, such as, but not limited to, an appointment book,address book, and/or contact list. These functional tools are anextension of many of the features provided by time management softwaresuch as desk accessory packages and computer office automation systems.Calendaring is a standard feature of many electronic devices, such as,but not limited to, desktop computers, laptop computers, notebookcomputers, tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs),enterprise digital assistants (EDAs), cell phones, smart phones, andsmart watches (watches having a user input means). Electronic calendarapplications may also be implemented in one or more components of amedia presentation system, such as a media device that receives andpresents content to the user.

The electronic calendar application may generate calendar graphics whichresemble physical calendars. Such calendar graphics may show months,days, and/or time periods of a day. The generated calendar graphics arepresented to the user, or to another viewer, on a display. The displaymay be a component of the electronic device, or may be a component of adisplay device that is communicatively coupled to the electronic device.

Further, the generated calendar graphics may indicate various types ofappointments that the user has on their schedule. Calendar appointmentsmay include various information to assist the user in understanding thenature of their appointment. For example, appointment information mayinclude a defined time period for the scheduled appointment, such as thestart date and start time of the appointment, and optionally a durationand/or end time of the appointment. The appointment information mayinclude a textual description of the appointment, such as informationdescribing the purpose, topic, subject matter of the appointment. Thenames of other parties that may be present at the appointment may beindicated. The address and/or other location information indicatingwhere the appointment is to be held may be included in the appointmentinformation. Contact information, such as the name of the location or aphone number, may also be included in the appointment information.

The electronic calendar application may be configured to generateappointment reminders which are communicated to or presented to theuser. Such reminders are typically generated in advance of a scheduledappointment by one or more predefined durations, and/or may be generatedat the time that the appointment is scheduled to start. For example, anaudible tone may be emitted as the scheduled appointment start timeapproaches and/or arrives. Additionally, or alternatively, if the useris viewing the display, a pop-up type reminder may be presented to theuser. Reminders may even be communicated from the device executing theelectronic calendar application to another device that the user, oranother person, may be using.

In many situations, the user may wish to perform other activities,either concurrently with the scheduled appointment or instead of thescheduled appointment. For example, the user may have wanted to be attheir residence watching and/or listening to a media content event ofinterest on their media presentation system instead of attending thescheduled appointment. In many situations, the user may have realizedthe schedule conflict between the presentation times of the programevent of interest and the start time and/or end time of the scheduledappointment, and may have therefore manually configured their mediapresentation system to automatically record the program event ofinterest for later viewing and/or listening. Unfortunately, in somesituations, the user may not realize that there is a schedule conflictbetween the program event of interest and the scheduled appointment, andmay forget or not know to schedule the media content event of interestfor recording. In these situations, the media content event of interestmay not be recorded for later viewing.

Accordingly, there is a need in the arts to improve the ability of auser to more efficiently and more reliably coordinate operation of theirmedia presentation system with appointment information that is managedby one or more electronic calendar applications.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods of a media device are operable to receiveappointment information from an electronic device, wherein theappointment information is defined by a time period for a scheduledappointment for a user, and wherein the scheduled appointment requiresthe user to be at a remote location that is remote from a location ofthe media device such that the user is unable to manually operate or usetheir media device. The media device is configured to automaticallymodify at least one operation of the media device based on the receivedappointment information that is associated with the scheduledappointment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred and alternative embodiments are described in detail below withreference to the following drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication environment that includesan exemplary media device with a calendar synchronization system incommunication with a plurality of different types of media devices thatare configured with electronic calendar applications;

FIG. 2 is an example presented electronic program guide (EPG) with ascheduled appointment region that indicates the start time and the endtime of a scheduled appointment;

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate example EPGs wherein multiple scheduledappointments have been scheduled for the same region of time shown bythe presented EPG;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the calendarsynchronization system implemented in an exemplary media device;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example graphical user interface (GUI) thatpermits the user to selectively initiate a calendar synchronizationrequest to one or more of the electronic devices;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example GUI that may be presented on the displayto a user to indicate identified conflicting media content events and anassociated conflicting scheduled appointment;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example GUI that indicates identified conflictingmedia content events and the identity of the users who are associatedwith the conflicting media content events;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example EPG wherein travel time adjustments havebeen made to the times of the scheduled appointments shown by thepresented EPG; and

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary GUI that may be presented to the userto facilitate specification of travel time adjustments to one or morescheduled appointments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication environment with a calendarsynchronization system 100 provisioned in an exemplary media device 102that receives and presents media content to a user. The media device 102is in communication with a plurality of electronic devices 104 that areconfigured with electronic calendar applications. Embodiments of thecalendar synchronization system 100 are configured to cause the mediadevice 102 to receive appointment information from, and/or to exchangeappointment information with, one or more of the electronic devices 104.The calendar synchronization system 100 is configured to automaticallymodify operation of the media device 102 based on received appointmentinformation that is associated with a scheduled appointment.

Scheduled appointments may be made by the user for a variety of reasons.Of particular interest herein are scheduled appointments which requirethe user to be at a remote location such that the user is not able tomanually operate and/or use their media device 102 for presentation ofmedia content. Thus, if the user is unable to use their media device 102because the scheduled appointment requires them to be at a remotelocation, then embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100automatically modify operation of the media device 102 based on receivedappointment information for that particular scheduled appointment.Accordingly, the phrase “remote location” is defined herein to be alocation that is sufficiently remote from the media device 102 such thatthe user is unable to manually operate and/or use their media device 102to view and/or record a media content event of interest.

For example, the media device 102 may reside at the residence of theuser. Examples of scheduled appointments that require the user to be ata remote location include attendance at a business meeting, a schoolfunction, as social gathering, a vacation, a recreational outing, arecreational event, or the like. Here, attendance of the user at theremote location requires the user to be away from their residence.

As another example, the media device 102 may be in a media room, livingroom, recreational room or the like. The scheduled appointment thatrequires the user to be at a remote location could be a telephoneconference wherein the user retreats to a different location in theresidence, such as their home office or the like, to conduct thetelephone conference. In these situations, the user is unable tomanually operate and/or use their media device 102.

Exemplary electronic devices 104 illustrated in FIG. 1 include a smartphone 104 a, a desktop computer 104 b, a laptop computer 104 c, a remoteserver device 104 d, and electronic device 104 e. Other electronicdevices 104 (not shown) that may have electronic calendar applicationsinclude, but are not limited to, mobile media devices, notebookcomputers, tablet computers, notepads, netbooks, electronic book readers(e-books), personal digital assistants (PDAs), enterprise digitalassistants (EDAs), cell phones, and smart watches. Electronic calendarapplications may also be implemented in one or more components of amedia presentation system, such as the exemplary media device 102.

Some calendar applications may not reside in the user's device that theuser is using to maintain their calendar schedules. For example, theelectronic device 104 e may communicate input appointment informationprovided by the user or another authorized person into a calendarapplication residing in one or more of the example remote server devices104 d. In this type of calendar application system, referred to hereinas a cloud calendar application system, a login and/or password areentered or provided to the electronic calendar application residing inthe remote server devices 104 d by the user or other authorized person.Here, embodiments are configured to emulate the user by providing ascript or the like with login and/or password information such that thecalendar synchronization system 100 is able to access the electroniccalendar applications. Once the login and/or password information isprovided and access is granted, embodiments of the calendarsynchronization system 100 thereby gain access to the appointmentinformation of the electronic calendar application residing at theremote server devices 104 d.

Embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 electronicallyreceive appointment information from the electronic calendarapplications residing in one or more of the electronic devices 104. Thereceived appointment information identifies scheduled appointments thathave been specified by the user of one of the electronic calendarapplications of one or more of the electronic devices 104. Embodimentsof the calendar synchronization system 100 compare the receivedappointment information with other information residing in the mediadevice 102, and based on the comparison, causes the media deice 102 toperform one or more automatic operations when the appointmentinformation indicates that the user will not be able to use or manuallyoperate the media device 102 (because their scheduled appointmentrequires that the user to be at a remote location).

An exemplary automatic operation performed by the media device 102 underthe control of the calendar synchronization system 100 is an automaticscheduling for a recording of a media content event of interest that isscheduled for presentation in whole, or in part, during the same timeperiod of a scheduled appointment. That is, during a time period thatthe appointment information from the electronic calendar applicationindicates that the user is required to be at a remote location that isaway from the media device, or indicates that the user may be otherwiseoccupied during a scheduled appointment, a media content event ofinterest that is scheduled for presentation during a time that iscoincident with the times of a scheduled appointment is automaticallyrecorded. Here, the calendar synchronization system 100 compares atleast the times associated with a scheduled appointment withpresentation times of the media content event of interest. (Typically,the presentation time corresponds to the time that the media contentevent of interest is being received in a broadcasted media contentstream at the media device 102.) Additionally, or alternatively, themedia device 102 may perform other automatic operations, described ingreater detail herein.

The example communication environment topography illustrated in FIG. 1illustrates that the various electronic devices 104 with electroniccalendar applications may be communicatively coupled to the media device102 in a variety of manners. In an exemplary operating situation, thesmart phone 104 a establishes a radio frequency (RF) communication link106 to a communication system 108. For example, a portion of thecommunication system 108 may comprise a cellular phone network. Once thecommunication link 106 has been established by the smart phone 104 a,the appointment information associated with a scheduled appointment maybe communicated to the media device 102 using any suitable medium, suchas text messaging or the like.

For example, the resident electronic calendar application of anelectronic device 104 may generate an alert message for the user thatindicates information about the scheduled appointment (date, time,appointment purpose, etc.). The alert message may, for example, betextual information shown on a display. This textual information may becommunicated to embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100for processing. Alternatively, or additionally, the electronic device104 may communicate a text message that indicates information about thescheduled appointment that is received by the media device 102.

An RF communication link 110 is established between the communicationsystem 108 and the media device 102 such that the smart phone 104 a maycommunicate the appointment information from its electronic calendarapplication to the media device 102. Here, the RF communication link 110may be a cellular phone type link. Alternatively, or additionally, theRF communication link 110 may be to a Wi-Fi system, a wireless modem, orthe like.

Alternatively, or additionally, a physical connection 112 maycommunicatively couple the media device 102 to the communication system108. For example, a portion of the communication system 108 may comprisethe Internet, and the physical connection 112 may provide connectivityto the Internet or to another sub-system communicatively coupled to theInternet.

Accordingly, one skilled in the art understands that the communicationsystem 108 may comprise one or more of a cellular telephone system, aradio frequency (RF) wireless system, a telephony system, the Internet,a Wi-fi system, a microwave communication system, a fiber optics system,an intranet system, a local access network (LAN) system, an Ethernetsystem, a cable system, a radio frequency system, a cellular system, aninfrared system, a satellite system, or a hybrid system comprised ofmultiple types of communication media. Additionally, embodiments may beimplemented to communicate using other types of communicationtechnologies, such as but not limited to, digital subscriber loop (DSL),X.25, Internet Protocol (IP), Ethernet, Integrated Services DigitalNetwork (ISDN) and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM). Also, embodimentsmay be configured to communicate over combination systems having aplurality of segments which employ different formats for each segmentthat employ different technologies on each segment.

In some situations, the electronic device 104 may be directlycommunicatively coupled to the media device 102. For example, FIG. 1illustrates that the smart phone 104 a is communicatively coupled to themedia device via wireless link 114. Here, the smart phone 104 a isconfigured to communicate using an RF type signal, an infrared typesignal, or the like that is directly receivable by the media device 102.Alternatively, or additionally, a physical connector 116 may be used tophysically couple the smart phone 104 a to the media device 102.Alternatively, or additionally, a detachable memory medium 118, such asa memory stick or the like, may be used to transfer the appointmentinformation from the electronic device 104 to the media device 102.

A variety of different types of electronic devices 104 may provideappointment information to the media device 102 from their respectiveelectronic calendar applications via the communication system 108. Forexample, FIG. 1 illustrates the desktop computer 104 b, the laptopcomputer 104 c, the remote server device 104 d, and the electronicdevice 104 e being communicatively coupled to the communication system108 via a communication link 120. The communication link 120 may be anysuitable physical connection and/or wireless connection. Accordingly,the desktop computer 104 b, the laptop computer 104 c, and/or the remoteserver device 104 d may be remotely located from the media device 102,wherein the appointment information from the respective electroniccalendar application of the electronic devices 104 is communicated tothe media device 102.

The exemplary smart phone 104 a includes a display 122 configured topresent visual information to the user. An exemplary calendar graphic124 is generated by the electronic calendar application of the smartphone 104 a, and is presented on the display 122 to the user (notshown). The calendar graphic 124 is indicated as representing a page ofa hardcopy calendar for a month of interest. Individual days of themonth are illustrated on the non-limiting example calendar graphic 124.Here, a hypothetical appointment is scheduled to occur on the eighth dayof the example month, as illustrated by the bold highlighting of day 8on the presented calendar graphic 124. Therefore, upon viewing thepresented calendar graphic 124, the user of the smart phone 104 aintuitively understands that they have a scheduled appointment on thatday. The example desktop computer 104 b and the laptop computer 104 care also illustrated as presenting the calendar graphic 124 on theirrespective display.

Depending upon the particular electronic calendar applicationimplemented in the example smart phone 104 a, the user of the smartphone 104 a may actuate one or more of the controllers 126 on thesurface of the smart phone 104 a to obtain additional appointmentinformation associated with a scheduled appointment. For example,additional appointment information included with the calendar graphic124 is presented on the display 122 as textual information thatdescribes the scheduled appointment. The presented appointmentinformation indicates that the scheduled appointment is a meeting thatrequires the user to be at a remote location. The meeting is scheduledto begin at 8:30 p.m., and is scheduled to conclude at 10:00 p.m. Theexemplary appointment location is at school, presumably understood bythe user to be the school of the user's children (though other schoolsand/or locations may be understood to be the location for the scheduledappointment). Furthermore, the scheduled appointment is indicated asbeing a recurring type of appointment (thus intuitively informing theuser that another meeting has been scheduled for the next month on thesame day, or near the same day).

One skilled in the art understands that there are a variety of differentelectronic calendar applications that may be used by the variouselectronic devices 104. These different electronic calendar applicationsmay provide different types of appointment information (one or morespecific instances of appointment information) to the user. Non-limitingtypes of specific instances of appointment information include a name orother textual identifier of the scheduled appointment, temporalcharacteristics that define a period of the scheduled appointment(scheduled date, start time, duration, and/or end time), location of thescheduled appointment, whether the scheduled appointment is a one timeappointment or a recurring appointment, the type of scheduledappointment, supplemental information pertaining to the scheduledappointment, names of other participants in the scheduled appointment,and/or contact information of other participants or of the remotelocation facility. Further, some specific instances of theabove-identified appointment information may be optionally specified bythe user. Other specific instances of the appointment information may beomitted and/or may not be required by the electronic calendarapplication.

Examples of specific instances of the appointment information are nowdescribed in greater detail. A first example specific instance ofappointment information is a name or other textual identifier given tothe scheduled appointment. The name of the scheduled appointment istypically a relatively short descriptive textual string (alpha numericstring) entered by the user. Alternatively, or additionally, the name ofthe scheduled appointment may be predefined by the electronic calendarapplication, where the user selects the predefined name from a group ofavailable scheduled appointment names. Non-limiting example scheduledappointment names may include: meeting, telephonic conference, medicalappointment, event, concert, movie, dinner, etc.

Another example specific instance of appointment information are thetemporal characteristics of the scheduled appointment. Temporalinformation for the defined period of the scheduled appointment includesthe date of the scheduled appointment, the start time of the scheduledappointment, the duration of the scheduled appointment, and/or the endtime of the scheduled appointment.

Another example specific instance of appointment information is locationinformation associated with the scheduled appointment. The location ofthe scheduled appointment may be specified as an address of thelocation, a description or name of the location, a zip code of thelocation, global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the location,or the like.

Another example specific instance of appointment information is whetherthe scheduled appointment is a nonrecurring event or a recurring eventwhich periodically repeats at predefined dates and times. If thescheduled appointment is a recurring type of event, the period ofrecurrence (or particular specified dates and times) of the recurringscheduled appointments may also be included in the appointmentinformation for analysis by the calendar synchronization system 100.

Another example specific instance of appointment information is adescriptive textual string that describes the nature or type of thescheduled appointment. For example, the appointment information mayindicate that the scheduled appointment is for a meeting and/or a phonecall.

Another example specific instance of appointment information issupplemental information. The supplemental information is a descriptivetextual string that further describes one or more attributes about thescheduled appointment. For example, but not limited to, the supplementalinformation may indicate to the user that the scheduled appointment maybe for a school play, a movie, a cocktail party, or other social event.Alternatively, or additionally, the supplemental information maydescribe the subject matter of the scheduled appointment. Suchinformation may assist the user in identifying appropriate dress for thescheduled appointment, what items to bring with them when they go to thescheduled appointment, and/or what topics the user should be prepared todiscuss while at the scheduled appointment.

Another example specific instance of appointment information are namesof other participants associated with the scheduled appointment. Thenames of other individuals may prompt the user to be more situationallyaware of the environment associated with the scheduled appointment. Forexample, if the name of the individual is the user's work supervisor,the user may be better prepared to deal with the anticipated subjectmatter of the scheduled appointment.

Another example specific instance of appointment information is variouscontact information. The contact information may pertain to the locationand/or other people associated with the scheduled appointment. Forexample, a phone number, e-mail address, or the like associated with thefacilities where the scheduled appointment is to be held. The contactinformation may pertain to one or more of the participating parties whowill be at the scheduled appointment. In some situations, the contactinformation may be associated with the above-described names of otherparticipants associated with the scheduled appointment.

Regardless of the particular type of electronic calendar applicationimplemented in a particular one of the electronic devices 104, theelectronic calendar applications are configured to output appointmentinformation that can be communicated to other electronic devices. Forexample, the user's electronic calendar application implemented on theirsmart phone 104 a may output its appointment information for scheduledappointments to the electronic calendar application of the desktopcomputer 104 b, the laptop computer 104 c, and/or the remote serverdevice 104 d. When these other electronic calendar applications receiveappointment information from other electronic calendar applications, thereceived appointment information is used to update the appointmentinformation of the receiving electronic calendar application. Thisprocess of receiving and updating appointment information is known ascalendar synchronization. In many instances, the calendarsynchronization process is a two-way process wherein both of theelectronic devices 104 exchange appointment information so that theelectronic calendar applications of both of the electronic devices 104have substantially the same appointment information.

Embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 residing in amedia device 102 are similarly configured to received appointmentinformation from one or more of the electronic calendar applications ofthe various electronic devices 104 that may be used by the user. One-waycalendar synchronization between the electronic devices 104 and thecalendar synchronization system 100 provides the media device 102appointment information associated with a scheduled appointment that isanalyzed by the calendar synchronization system 100 to determine if thescheduled appointment requires the user to be at a remote location, andoptionally, determine the location of the scheduled appointment relativeto the location of the media device 102. Based on the analysis of thereceived appointment information by the calendar synchronization system100, the media device 102 may then be configured and/or operated toperform one or more automatic operations.

As a non-limiting example of an automatic operation performed by themedia device 102, the calendar synchronization system 100 may configurethe media device 102 to automatically record a particular media contentevent of interest that is being received and/or presented concurrentlywith a scheduled appointment (under the assumption that the scheduledappointment requires the user to be at a remote location and willtherefore not be able to view the presentation of the media contentevent of interest). Thus, when the user is no longer at the scheduledappointment, the user may retrieve and view the media content event ofinterest at a later time of their choosing.

Further, the calendar synchronization system 100 may be optionallyconfigured to provide two-way calendar synchronization with theelectronic device 104 that provides appointment information. Forexample, the user may schedule a new appointment into the electroniccalendar application of their smart phone 104 a. The electronic calendarapplication of the smart phone 104 a may communicate appointmentinformation describing the newly scheduled appointment to the calendarsynchronization system 100 in the media device 102. The calendarsynchronization system 100 may then schedule the recording of a mediacontent event of interest that is scheduled for presentation at the sametime as the newly scheduled appointment that requires the user to be ata remote location for the scheduled appointment. The determinedrecording information could be returned from the calendarsynchronization system 100 to the smart phone 104 a, and thenincorporated into the electronic calendar application data at the smartphone 104 a. Thus, if the user is later operating the electroniccalendar application of the smart phone 104 a, they can be notified thatthe calendar synchronization system 100 has automatically scheduled arecording of the media content event of interest.

Since each particular one of the electronic devices 104 may have anelectronic calendar application that is different from other electroniccalendar applications, embodiments of the calendar synchronizationsystem 100 are configured to receive appointment information from aplurality of different types of electronic calendar applications. Moreimportantly, the received appointment information provided by thevarious and different types of electronic calendar applications in theelectronic devices 104 may employ different data formats. Therefore,embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 are configured toreceive appointment information in different formats.

For example, the format of the communicated appointment information mayspecify a particular order in the various specific instances ofappointment information (date, start time, duration or end time,appointment name, appointment location, appointment description,participant names, contact information, etc.). Thus, differentelectronic calendar applications may provide the specific instance ofappointment information in a different order.

In other situations, different electronic calendar applications may usedifferent specific instances of information. For example, one of theelectronic calendar applications may specify an end time of thescheduled appointment and a different electronic calendar applicationmay use a duration of the scheduled appointment. Embodiments of thecalendar synchronization system 100 are configured to determine orcalculate the end of a scheduled appointment using either form ofappointment information.

Some electronic calendar applications may employ an industrystandardized format. Thus, embodiments of the calendar synchronizationsystem 100 are configured to receive appointment information that isformatted in accordance with accepted industry data formats. Regardlessof the data format that is used to communicate appointment informationfrom one of the electronic devices 104 to the calendar synchronizationsystem 100 of the media device 102, the calendar synchronization system100 is able to receive and process the received appointment information.

Some embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 in the mediadevice 102 may be optionally configured to re-communicate theappointment information received from a particular one of the electronicdevices 104 to selected ones of, or all of, the other electronic devices104. Alternatively, or additionally, the scheduled recording informationgenerated by the calendar synchronization system 100 may be communicatedto one or all of the other media devices 104. That is, the calendarsynchronization system 100 may optionally operate as a coordinator thatprovides updated appointment schedule information to selected ones of,or all of, the electronic devices 104.

For example, the user may schedule a new appointment into the electroniccalendar application of their smart phone 104 a. The electronic calendarapplication of the smart phone 104 a may communicate appointmentinformation describing the newly scheduled appointment to the calendarsynchronization system 100 in the media device 102. The calendarsynchronization system 100 may then automatically schedule the recordingof a media content event of interest that is to occur at the time of thenewly scheduled appointment that requires the user to be at a remotelocation. The calendar synchronization system 100 would have access to astored list identifying other electronic devices 104 that are to alsoreceive updated appointment information. Accordingly, the scheduledrecording information and/or the new appointment information could bereturned to any one of, or all of, the other electronic devices 104 thatmaintain calendars for the user. Thus, if the user is operating theirlaptop computer 104 c, the electronic calendar application of the laptopcomputer 104 c is notified by the calendar synchronization system 100 ofthe scheduled recording of the media content event of interest and/or isnotified of the newly scheduled appointment made using the smart phone104 a. As another non-limiting example, if the user logs into a calendarservice that resides in the remote server device 104 d using electronicdevice 104 e, the remote server device 104 e or the electronic device104 e could then inform the user that the calendar synchronizationsystem 100 has scheduled a recording of the media content event ofinterest.

If data formats used by the various electronic calendar applications aredifferent from each other, the calendar synchronization system 100 maybe configured to reformat the appointment information received from oneof the electronic devices 104 into an appropriate format that is used bythe other particular electronic devices 104. For example, the order ofspecific information may be rearranged into an order that is inaccordance with the format used by the receiving one of the electronicdevices 104. To illustrate, the smart phone 104 a may provide theappointment information in a text string format that orders theinformation as follows: name of scheduled appointment, date of scheduledappointment, start time of scheduled appointment, duration of scheduledappointment, and brief description of scheduled appointment. Another oneof the electronic devices 104 may have an electronic calendarapplication that requires appointment information in the followingformat: date of scheduled appointment, start time of scheduledappointment, duration of scheduled appointment, name of scheduledappointment, brief description of scheduled appointment. Here,embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 would reorder thespecific information into the format used by the other electronic device104, and then communicate the reformatted appointment information to theother electronic device 104 (which could then update its calendarinformation accordingly).

In some situations, the length or amount of a particular instance ofspecific information may be different between various electroniccalendar applications. For example, the supplemental information thatprovides a brief description of the scheduled appointment may be limitedto one hundred characters (a first textual character limit) in anexample electronic calendar application used by one of the electronicdevices 104. Another one of the electronic calendar applications maylimit the length of the brief description of the scheduled appointmentto fifty characters. Embodiments of the calendar synchronization system100 may be configured to modify the received description of thescheduled appointment to fit within the fifty character limit to complywith format requirements of the receiving electronic device 104. Forexample, the text in excess of the fifty character limited (a secondtextual character limit) might be truncated, deleted, or otherwiseremoved from the supplemental information. Alternatively, oradditionally, non-critical terms could be deleted (such as prefix orconnector type terms: a, the, and, of, or, etc.) until the fiftycharacter limit is reached. For example, but not limited to,non-critical terms may first be deleted, then remaining text thatexceeds a test character limit could then be deleted.

Some embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 may beconfigured to change the form of the received appointment information.For example, one of the electronic devices 104 may specify a start timeand duration of the scheduled appointment. Embodiments of the calendarsynchronization system 100 may be configured to determine or compute theend time of the scheduled appointment based on the received start timeand duration of the scheduled appointment. Then, the start time and thecomputed end time of the scheduled appointment could be communicated toanother one of the electronic devices 104 in the required data format.Further, the determined end time may be used to define automaticoperations defined by the calendar synchronization system 100, such asan end time of any automatically scheduled recordings.

FIG. 1 further illustrates that the media device 102 is a component of amedia system 128. The exemplary media system 128 also comprises a remotecontrol 130, a visual presentation device 132, and an audio presentationdevice 134. Non-limiting examples of the visual presentation device 132include televisions, monitors, personal computers, laptop computers orother electronic devices that include, or are coupled to, the relativelylarge display 136. Some visual presentation devices 132 may optionallyinclude speakers (not shown) that emit the audio portions of receivedmedia content. Non-limiting examples of the audio presentation device134 include surround sound receivers, stereos, radios or otherelectronic devices that include, or are coupled to, one or more speakers138.

During operation of the media system 128, the user may controlpresentation of a media content event by actuating one or more of thecontrollers 140 on the remote control 130. The remote control 130generates a device command that is communicated to the media device 102via a wireless signal 142. The wireless signal 142 may be an RF signal,an infrared signal, or the like. Based on the instructions generated bythe remote control 130, the media device 102 provides a stream of videoinformation 144 (and optionally a stream of audio information) to thevisual presentation device 132. In some media systems 128, a stream ofaudio information 146 may be provided to the audio presentation device134.

At some point during the presentation of a media content event, the usermay decide that they would like to change channels to watch a differentmedia content event. To view alternative media content event viewingchoices, the user may operate the media device 102 such that anelectronic program guide (EPG) 148 is presented on the display 136.

The example EPG 148 is a type of a graphical user interface thatpresents a menu, or a series of menus, that describe available mediacontent events that are available for presentation. The example EPG 148has the look and feel of a table that uses a combination of text and/orsymbols to indicate the media content event viewing choices that may beselected by the user. The program information presented on the EPG 148may include the title of available media content events, the “channel”of the available media content events, the scheduled time and date ofthe media content event presentation, and optionally a brief descriptionof the media content event. The EPG 148 is interactive with the user.The user, by actuating one or more of the controllers 140 on theirremote control 130, is able to “scroll” or “navigate” about the EPG 148to select a media content event of interest.

The exemplary EPG 148 shows the channels and names for a plurality ofmedia content events that are available for presentation on April 8,between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. It is appreciated that thesize of the display 136 limits the amount of information that may bepresented by an EPG 148. Accordingly, the EPG 148 only presents at anygiven moment a limited number of channels (here, channels associatedwith stations A-G) for a limited amount of time (here, from the four anda half hours spanning the times from 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.). Byactuating one or more of the controllers 140 on their remote control130, the user may adjust the presented range of channels and/or range oftime durations of the EPG 148.

In the hypothetical example illustrated in FIG. 1, the current time isindicated as being 4:00 p.m. (as noted in the upper right hand corner ofthe presented EPG 148). Thus, it is apparent that the user has turned onat least the media device 102 and the visual presentation device 132,and has initiated presentation of the EPG 148. Here, it is furtherappreciated that the user has advanced the time period presented by theEPG 148 from the current time of 4:00 p.m. to a future time of 8:00 p.m.so that the user can view available media content event choices that maybe of interest during that future time period. Here, recording of the“Program E-1” can be scheduled by the user by navigating about thepresented EPG 148 to highlight the portion of the EPG 148 that ispresenting the “Program E-1” information.

In the above-described hypothetical example, the calendarsynchronization system 100 has previously received appointmentinformation from the electronic calendar application of the smart phone104 a which indicates that the user has a scheduled appointment from8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on April 8. Embodiments of the calendarsynchronization system 100 compare the received appointment informationwith other information residing in the media device 102, and based onthe comparison, causes the media deice 102 to perform one or moreautomatic operations when the appointment information indicates that theuser will not be able to manually operate and/or use the media device102 during the time of the scheduled appointment. That is, one or moreautomatic operations for the media device 102 are defined when ascheduled appointment may require that the user is to be at a remotelocation during the scheduled appointment.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, which is also shown ingreater detail in FIG. 2, the calendar synchronization system 100operates the media device 102 to automatically modify presentation ofthe EPG 148 to indicate that there is a scheduled appointment beginningat 8:30 p.m. and ending at 10:00 p.m. The scheduled appointment isindicated on the presented EPG 148 by bordering a region 150 of thepresented EPG 148 (between the hours of 8:30 p.m. and ending at 10:00p.m.), hereinafter interchangeably referred to as the scheduledappointment region 150. Embodiments of the calendar synchronizationsystem 100 define the scheduled appointment region 150 by identifying ordetermining the time period (start time and the end time) of thescheduled appointment based on the received appointment information.

Here, the example EPG 148 is modified by presenting a scheduledappointment region 150 that overlays the media content event informationof the presented EPG 148. The scheduled appointment region 150 ispresented using indicator lines that encircle the scheduled appointmentregion 150 to intuitively inform the user that they have a conflictingscheduled appointment that will prevent their viewing of the mediacontent events (interchangeably referred to herein as programs) whichare encompassed or covered by the scheduled appointment region 150. Forexample, a first indicator line 202 is presented that coincides with thestart time of the scheduled appointment and the corresponding times ofscheduled media content events. A second indicator line 204 is presentedthat coincides with the end time of the scheduled appointment and thecorresponding times of scheduled media content events. Top and bottomindicator lines 206 and 208, respectively, may be presented at the topand bottom presented portions of the EPG 148.

Embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 define the firstindicator line 202 of the scheduled appointment region 150 byidentifying or determining the start time of the scheduled appointmentbased on the received appointment information. The second indicator line204 is defined by identifying or determining the end time of thescheduled appointment based on the received appointment information. Anytime that an EPG is generated and presented which shows available mediacontent events that encompasse the determined start time and the endtime of the scheduled appointment, the scheduled appointment region 150is generated and added to the presented EPG.

The region of the scheduled appointment region 150 may be furtherdelineated by adding onto a portion of the presented EPG 148 that liesbetween the first indicator line 202 and the second indicator line 204any desirable fill shading, fill coloring, and/or fill pattern. Theadded fill shading, fill coloring, and/or fill pattern to modify apresented EPG further highlights the scheduled appointment region 150.For example, FIG. 1 employs a partially transparent fill pattern ofdiagonal lines within the border of the scheduled appointment region150. The partially transparent fill shading, fill coloring, and/or fillpattern permits viewing of the textual information about the mediacontent events that are in conflict with the scheduled appointmentassociated with the scheduled appointment region 150 so that the user'sawareness of the conflicting scheduled event is heightened.

Alternatively, or additionally, text coloring, border line coloring,line or text flashing may be used to enhance the user's awareness of theconflicting scheduled appointment beginning at 8:30 p.m. and ending at10:00 p.m. For example, but not limited to, the text informationdescribing the media content events may be presented using a bold and/orcolored font, such as red, magenta, yellow, or the like. Thus, when adifferent font is used for the descriptive text information of mediacontent events that lie within the scheduled appointment region 150, orare at least partially bounded by the scheduled appointment region 150,the user's awareness of the conflicting scheduled event is heightened.For example, if a bold red font is used, which is different from thenon-bold black font used to present textual information on the EPG thatare outside of the first indicator line 202 or the second indicator line204, the user readily appreciates which media content events are inconflict with the scheduled appointment.

In the hypothetical example illustrated in FIG. 1, the user willintuitively appreciate the conflict between the viewing of the mediacontent event of interest presented on the particular channel associatedwith Station E (“Program E-1”) and their scheduled appointment. That is,the presentation times of the media content event of interest identifiedas “Program E-1” is in conflict with the times of the scheduledappointment. Accordingly, the user may choose to manually initiate arecording of the media content event by actuating one or more of thecontrollers 140 on their remote control 130. The user may then departfor their scheduled appointment (the meeting from 8:30 p.m. to 10:00p.m.), and upon returning, may initiate presentation of the recordedmedia content event of interest.

Alternatively, or additionally, the calendar synchronization system 100may automatically modify the presented EPG 148 to indicate each of themedia content events that are entirely or partially in conflict with thescheduled appointment. In the example embodiment of FIG. 1, the mediacontent events that cannot be viewed in their entirety because of thetimes of the scheduled appointment are automatically highlighted to theuser using a bold font. Alternatively, or additionally, the font of thetext associated with these media content events may be presented in adifferent color, such as a bright red color, magenta color or othersuitable color that is readily noticeable by the user. The boundedinterior region of the media content events may be alternatively, oradditionally, highlighted using a fill shading, a fill color, and/or afill pattern to further emphasize to the user of a conflict betweenviewing these media content events and the scheduled appointment.

Alternatively, or additionally, the calendar synchronization system 100may modify the EPG 148 to present textual information 152 describing thescheduled appointment when a time period encompassed by the presentedEPG coincides with a time period of the scheduled appointment. In someembodiments, the textual information 152 describing the scheduledappointment is presented when there is any scheduled appointment. Inother embodiments, the textual information 152 is presented only whenthe time period encompassed by the presented EPG coincides with the timeperiod of the scheduled appointment, such as when the user scrolls theEPG 148 forward in time. In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG.1, the textual information 152 is presented at the top left hand side ofthe EPG. The textual information 152 may be presented at any suitablelocation on the display 136, and/or on the EPG 148. Any suitable fonttype, color, and/or highlighting may be used to present the textualinformation 152. Any suitable information of the appointment informationmay be included in the presented textual information 152.

In situations when a plurality of scheduled appointments are known, aplurality of multiple scheduled appointment regions may be shown foreach of the individual scheduled appointments. Such multiple scheduledappointment regions 150 may even be shown to overlap with each other.Different and/or overlapping multiple scheduled appointment regions 150may be shown using different colors, fill shading, fill color, and/orfill pattern to further emphasize differences between the multiplescheduled appointment regions 150.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example situation wherein multiple scheduledappointments have been scheduled for the same region of time shown bythe presented EPG 148 of FIG. 2. In this exemplary situation, theappointment information indicates that a second scheduled appointment isfrom 10:30-11:30 p.m. Accordingly, a second scheduled appointment region302 is illustrated on the EPG 148.

Additionally, or alternatively, the calendar synchronization system 100may automatically modify the presented EPG 148 to indicate all of themedia content events that are entirely or partially in conflict with themultiple scheduled appointments. For example, but not limited to, mediacontent events that are entirely or partially in conflict with themultiple scheduled appointments are indicated using bold presented textfonts. Any particular type of indication may be used, such as differentfont colors, and/or with highlighting with fill colors, fill patterns,or the like.

FIG. 4. illustrates an example situation wherein multiple scheduledappointments have been scheduled for the region of time shown by thepresented EPG 148 of FIG. 2. In this exemplary situation, theappointment information indicates that a second scheduled appointment isfrom 10:00-11:30 p.m. regions 150 has been scheduled for the user.Accordingly, a second scheduled appointment region 302 is illustrated onthe EPG 148. Alternatively, a single scheduled appointment region 150may be presented which bounds the totality of the time periodsencompassed by the multiple scheduled appointments. Additionally, oralternatively, the calendar synchronization system 100 may automaticallymodify the presented EPG 148 to indicate all of the media content eventsthat are entirely or partially in conflict with the multiple scheduledappointments, such as by bolding presented text fonts, coloring textfonts, and/or with highlighting with fill colors, fill patterns, or thelike.

In the situation illustrated in FIG. 4, embodiments of the calendarsynchronization system 100 determine that there are two overlapping oradjacent scheduled appointments by comparing the ending time of theearlier appointment with the start time of the second appointment. Then,embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 define thescheduled appointment region 402 by identifying the start time of thefirst scheduled appointment and the end time of the second scheduledappointment based on the received appointment information. Any time thatan EPG is generated and presented which shows available media contentthat encompasses the determined start time of the first scheduledappointment and the end time of the second scheduled appointment, thescheduled appointment region 402 is generated and added to the presentedEPG.

In some embodiments, the above-described scheduled appointment regionsmay not be presented when an EPG is initially presented. In suchsituations, if there is a conflict between one or more scheduledappointments and the times presented on the EPG, a suitable prompt orgraphical icon 154, a pop-up window, or the like may be presented. Ifthe user selects the prompt or graphical icon 154, or navigates to thepop-up window, then the scheduled appointment regions may be then shownon the presented EPG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the calendarsynchronization system 100 implemented in an exemplary media device 102.Examples of the media device 102 include, but are not limited to, a settop box (STB). Embodiments of the media presentation system 100 may beimplemented in other media devices, such as, but not limited to, astereo, a surround-sound receiver, a radio, a television (TV), a digitalvideo disc (DVD) player, a digital video recorder (DVR), a game playingdevice, or a personal computer (PC).

The non-limiting exemplary media device 102 comprises a media contentstream interface 502, a processor system 504, a memory 506, a programbuffer 508, an optional digital video recorder (DVR) 510, a presentationdevice interface 512, a remote interface 514, an optional mobile device(MD) interface 516, and an optional communication system interface 518.The memory 506 comprises portions for storing the media device logic520, the calendar database 522, an optional browser 524, and calendarsynchronization logic 526. In some embodiments, the media device logic520, the calendar synchronization logic 526, and/or the optional browser524 may be integrated together, and/or may be integrated with otherlogic. In other embodiments, some or all of these memory and other datamanipulation functions may be provided by using a remote server or otherelectronic devices suitably connected via the Internet or otherwise to aclient device. Other embodiments of the media device 102 may includesome, or may omit some, of the above-described media processingcomponents. Further, additional components not described herein may beincluded in alternative embodiments.

The functionality of the media device 102, here a set top box (STB), isnow broadly described. A media content provider provides media contentthat is received in one or more multiple media content streams 528multiplexed together in one or more transport channels or the like. Suchmedia content streams 528 are broadcasted streams of content with one ormore channels presenting a media content event.

The transport channels with the media content streams 528 arecommunicated to the media device 102 from a media system sourced from aremote head end facility (not shown) operated by the media contentprovider. Non-limiting examples of such media systems include satellitesystems, cable systems, and the Internet. For example, if the mediacontent provider provides programming via a satellite-basedcommunication system, the media device 102 is configured to receive oneor more broadcasted satellite signals detected by an antenna (notshown). Alternatively, or additionally, the media content stream 528 canbe received from one or more different sources, such as, but not limitedto, a cable system, a radio frequency (RF) communication system, or theInternet.

The one or more media content streams 528 are received by the mediacontent stream interface 502. One or more tuners 530 in the mediacontent stream interface 502 selectively tune to one of the mediacontent streams 528 in accordance with instructions received from theprocessor system 504. The processor system 504, executing the mediadevice logic 520 and based upon a request for a media content event ofinterest specified by a user (not shown), parses out media contentassociated with the media content event of interest. Some media devices102 implement the tuner function using software.

The media content event of interest is then assembled into a stream ofvideo and/or audio information which may be stored by the program buffer508 such that the media content can be streamed out to the mediapresentation device, such as the visual presentation device 132 and/orthe audio presentation device 134, via the presentation device interface512. Alternatively, or additionally, the parsed out media content may besaved into the DVR 510 for later presentation. The DVR 510 may bedirectly provided in, locally connected to, and/or remotely connectedto, the media device 102.

In this simplified embodiment, the presentation device interface 512 isillustrated as coupled to a media system 128 that includes the visualpresentation device 132, such as a television (hereafter, generically aTV), and the audio presentation device 134, such as a surround soundreceiver. Other types of output devices may also be coupled to the mediadevice 102, including those providing any sort of stimuli sensible by ahuman being, such as temperature, vibration and the like. The videoportion of the streamed media content is displayed on the display 136and the audio portion of the streamed media content is reproduced assounds by the speakers 138.

From time to time, the media device 102 receives EPG information, suchas in the media content streams 528 or from another source. The receivedEPG information contains a listing or the like about media contentevents that are scheduled for presentation. The EPG information, foreach media content event, lists a name of the media content event, achannel that the media content event is available on, and thepresentation date, start time, and duration or end time of the mediacontent event. Optionally, descriptive information about the mediacontent event may be included in the EPG information. The EPGinformation is stored in the memory 506 or in another suitable memorymedium accessible by the calendar synchronization system 100.

The above processes performed by the media device 102 are generallyimplemented by the processor system 504 while executing the media devicelogic 520. Thus, the media device 102 may perform a variety of functionsrelated to the processing and presentation of one or more media contentevents received in the media content stream 528.

The communication system interface 518 is configured to communicativelycouple the media device 102 to the communication system 108 to enablecommunications to the smart phone 104 a, the desktop computer 104 b, thelaptop computer 104 c, the remote server device 104 d, and/or theelectronic device 104 e. The communication system interface 518 may beconfigured to receive and/or transmit the wireless signal 110. Forexample, but not limited to, an embodiment may employ a suitable Wi-Fienabled modem or the like to access the Internet. Alternatively, oradditionally, the communication system interface 518 may be configuredto communicate via the physical connection 112 using wire-based signals.Accordingly, the communication system interface 518 comprises one ormore suitable transceivers (not shown), modems, or the like that areconfigured to communication the wire-based signals to the communicationsystem 108.

Alternatively, or additionally, embodiments of the media device 102 mayinclude the mobile device interface 516 that is configured to receivecommunications from one or more of the electronic devices 104(conceptually illustrated by the arrow 532), such as the example smartphone 104 a. In an exemplary embodiment, the mobile device interface 516receives the wireless signal 114 transmitted from the smart phone 104 a.The wireless signal 114 may use any suitable communication medium, suchas, but not limited to, an RF medium or an infrared medium. Accordingly,the mobile device interface 516 comprises one or more suitable RF orinfrared transceivers (not shown). Further, the one or more wirelesstransceivers are configured to communicate appointment informationand/or scheduled recording information (conceptually illustrated by thearrow 534) generated by the processor system 504 back to the smart phone104 a.

Alternatively, or additionally, the mobile device interface 516 may beconfigured to communicate with one or more of the electronic devices 104via the physical connection 110 using wire-based signals and/or with thedetachable memory medium 118. Accordingly, the mobile device interface516 comprises one or more suitable transceivers (not shown) that areconfigured to receive the wire-based signals or information from thedetachable memory medium 118.

As described herein, a user (not shown) may view and/or listen tovarious program content events when presented on the exemplary visualpresentation device 132 and/or the exemplary audio presentation device134. That is, based upon the user commands, typically generated at andtransmitted from the remote control 130 as a wireless signal 142 that isreceived by the remote interface 514, the media device 102 can thencontrol itself and/or other various media devices that it iscommunicatively coupled to. Accordingly, available program content ispresented in accordance with the generated user commands.

In an exemplary embodiment, the remote interface 514 is configured toreceive the wireless signal 142 transmitted from the remote control 130.The wireless signal 142 may use any suitable communication medium, suchas, but not limited to, an RF medium or an infrared medium. Accordingly,the remote interface 514 comprises one or more suitable RF or infraredtransceivers (not shown) that are configured to receive the wirelesssignal 142.

In some embodiments, the mobile device interface 516 and the remoteinterface 514 may be an integrated interface device or a single device.For example, but not limited to, the integrated interface may beconfigured to receive RF signals from either the remote control 130 orone or more of the electronic devices 104, such as the example smartphone 104 a.

Embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 are configured toreceive, during calendar synchronization, appointment information thathas been entered or modified by the user operating an electroniccalendar application residing in one of the electronic devices 104. Acalendar synchronization between the media device 102 and one or more ofthe electronic devices 104 may be initiated in a variety of manners.

In an example embodiment, the media device 102 may from time to time, orperiodically, generate and transmit a calendar synchronization requestto one or more of the electronic devices 104. In an exemplaryembodiment, periodic calendar synchronization requests may be generatedby the media device 102 hourly, daily, weekly or the like.Alternatively, or additionally, the calendar synchronization request maybe sent to one or more of the electronic devices 104 when the userbegins operation of the media device 102.

Calendar synchronization requests are based on information stored in thecalendar database 522. For example, identities and required contactinformation for the electronic devices 104 that are associated with theuser's electronic calendar applications are stored in the calendardatabase 522, in another data file in the memory 506, or in anothersuitable memory medium that is accessible by the processor system 504.In embodiments where the media device 102 initiates the calendarsynchronization request, the identities and contact information of theelectronic devices 104 that are to receive the calendar synchronizationrequest are retrieved, accessed, or looked up. A calendarsynchronization request is generated and transmitted to one or more ofthe identified electronic devices 104 based on the retrieved contactinformation.

The contact information includes information on the particulars ofcontacting the electronic device 104 receiving a calendarsynchronization request. For example, the contact information mayinclude the mobile identifier, cell phone number, or the like of thesmartphone 104 a. An email address may be included in the contactinformation for the desktop computer 104 b and/or the laptop computer104 c. A web site address or the like may be included in the contactinformation for the remote server device 104 d. Additionally, thecontact information may include login and/or password information ifrequired.

In an example embodiment, electronic devices 104 responding to thecalendar synchronization request provide appointment information fornewly scheduled appointments that have been made since a last, previous,or most recent calendar synchronization update. Alternatively, thecommunicated appointment information includes the information for allcurrently scheduled appointments on the electronic calendar applicationof the responding electronic device 104.

Alternatively, the calendar synchronization request may specify aduration of interest for which new or modified scheduled appointmentshave been made by the user when using that particular device 104. Insome embodiments, the duration may be user specified. For example, theuser may be interested in potential scheduled appointments during thecoming week. Accordingly, the user may specify the above duration ofinterest as seven days, a week, by dates, or the like.

Alternatively, or additionally, the duration may be predefined. Forexample, the duration may correspond to the time period encompassed bythe EPG information, or may extend beyond the time period encompassed bythe EPG information by some predefined amount. For example, if the EPGinformation stored at the media device 102 encompasses a two weekwindow, the duration may be two weeks since this duration is a relevantwith respect to what can be analyzed by the calendar synchronizationsystem 100. Alternatively, the duration may be increased to three weekssince the extended schedule information will become relevant as timeprogresses and as EPG information updates are received at the mediadevice 102.

In some embodiments, the user may be able to initiate a calendarsynchronization request. In an exemplary embodiment, the user may bepresented a selectable prompt or graphical icon 154 on the display 136.The prompt or graphical icon 154, a pop-up window, or the like may beincluded as part of a presented EPG. Alternatively, or additionally, theprompt or graphical icon 154, a pop-up window, or the like may beseparately presented while a media content event is being presented.Alternatively, or additionally, the prompt or graphical icon 154, pop-upwindow, or the like may be presented when the user initially begins touse the media device 102. Any suitable form or type of prompt orgraphical icon 154, pop-up window, or the like may be used whichintuitively indicates to the user that selection of the prompt orgraphical icon 154 will cause a calendar synchronization request to beinitiated. In some embodiments, selection of the prompt or graphicalicon 154 by the user causes presentation of a special selection page(such as the example GUI 602). In some embodiments, the prompt orgraphical icon 154, pop-up window, or the like is presented for alimited duration, and then is removed or fades away, so as to no longerbe presented. For example, the prompt or graphical icon 154, pop-upwindow, or the like may be presented for ten seconds, and then fadeaway.

Alternatively, or additionally, a designated one of the controllers 140on the remote control 130 may be actuated by the user to initiate acalendar synchronization request. For example, actuation of a designatedfunction button on the remote control may cause the media device togenerate and transmit the calendar synchronization request to apredefined one of the electronic devices 104, to selected ones of theelectronic devices 104, or to all of the electronic devices 104.Alternatively, actuation of one of the controllers 140 may initiatepresentation of the prompt or graphical icon 154, pop-up window, or thelike (which may then be presented for a limited duration and/or untilthe user actuates one or more of the controllers 140).

Alternatively, or additionally, a designated one of the controllers 140on the remote control 130 may be actuated by the user to initiate apresentation of an interactive graphical menu, graphical user interface(GUI), or the like which permits the user to initiate a calendarsynchronization request. FIG. 6 illustrates an example GUI 602 thatpermits the user to selectively initiate a calendar synchronizationrequest to one or more of the electronic devices 104. Each of thepredefined electronic devices 104 that the user may want to initiate acalendar synchronization request with are indicated on a list 604presented on the GUI 602. The user selects those electronic devices 104that are of interest, and then the calendar synchronization system 100generates and transmits the calendar synchronization request to theselected ones of the electronic devices 104.

For example, the GUI 602 indicates that the user has selected the smartphone 104 a and the desktop computer 104 b for a calendarsynchronization, as indicated by the check-marked boxes adjacent to theidentifiers of those electronic devices 104. When the user actuates theselect controller or another suitable one of the controllers 140 ontheir remote control 130, the calendar synchronization system 100generates and transmits the calendar synchronization request to theselected smart phone 104 a and the desktop computer 104 b. In thissituation, the information stored in the calendar database 522 includesphone numbers, e-mail addresses, Internet link information (such as ahttp address or the like), along with any login and/or passwordinformation if required.

Some embodiments may permit the user to enter information designatinganother electronic device of interest. The user provides the contactinformation for the other electronic device of interest by filling outthe data field 606 on the GUI 602. If the other electronic device ofinterest is a phone-based device, the user may simply provide the phonenumber in the data field 606 along with any login and/or passwordinformation if required. If the other electronic device of interest isan Internet connected device with an e-mail based electronic calendarapplication, the user may simply provide the e-mail address or Internetlink information (such as a http address or the like) in the data field606, along with any login and/or password information if required. Here,the phone number, e-mail address or the like is used by the media device102 to establish a communication link to the associated electronicdevice 104, and the login and/or password information is provided toaccess the resident electronic calendar application of the electronicdevice 104.

Some embodiments of the media device 102 may include a separateelectronic calendar application. Calendar synchronization requests maybe generated and transmitted to all of the electronic devices 104 or toselected ones of the electronic devices 104 when the user is using alocal electronic calendar application (not shown) of the media device102. Here, the user may use the local electronic calendar application,and when a scheduled appointment is defined by the user, the calendarsynchronization requests may be generated and transmitted. For example,the user may schedule an automatic viewing of or request a notificationfor a media content event of interest using the local electroniccalendar application. As a result of the calendar synchronization withone or more of the electronic devices 104, embodiments of the calendarsynchronization system 100 may notify the user of any identifiedconflicts with scheduled appointments.

Alternatively, the calendar synchronization system 100 may include anelectronic calendar application. In such media devices 102, the calendarsynchronization system 100 may also perform a calendar synchronizationprocess with the electronic calendar application residing in the mediadevice 102.

Other predefined actions or activities performed by the user may causethe automatic generation and transmission of a synchronization requestto the electronic devices 104. For example, the user may couple thedetachable memory medium 118 to the media device 102 to manually loadappointment information. In response to coupling the detachable memorymedium 118 to the media device, or in response to adding the appointmentinformation stored in the detachable memory medium 118, the calendarsynchronization request may be generated and transmitted to one or moreof the electronic devices 104.

Alternatively, or additionally, a calendar synchronization request maybe initiated by one of the electronic devices 104. In an exampleembodiment, one or all of the electronic devices 104 are configured totransmit a calendar synchronization request to the media device 102. Ifthe media device 102 acknowledges the calendar synchronization request,the appointment information may then be communicated from the electronicdevice 104 to the media device 102. Alternatively, the communicatedcalendar synchronization request may include the appointmentinformation.

The calendar synchronization requests may be sent from the electronicdevices 104 to the media device 102 on a periodic basis. Alternatively,or additionally, the calendar synchronization request may be sent to themedia device 102 in response to use of the electronic device 104 by theuser. For example, but not limited to, a calendar synchronizationrequest may be sent when the user is using the electronic calendarapplications or performing another function using the electronic device104. Alternatively, or additionally, the calendar synchronizationrequest may be sent when the user enters in or modifies appointmentinformation for a new or existing scheduled appointment into theelectronic calendar application of the particular electronic device 104.In this situation, appointment information for all scheduledappointments may be sent, or alternatively, only the appointmentinformation for the new scheduled appointment or modified scheduledappointment may be sent from the electronic device 104 to the mediadevice 102. Additionally, the scheduled appointment information may befor a limited duration of time, such as the duration that is spanned bythe EPG information stored at the media device (such as two weeks, forexample). Alternatively, or additionally, the calendar synchronizationrequest may be sent when the user manually initiates a calendarsynchronization request using their electronic device 104.

In embodiments where the calendar synchronization request is sent fromthe electronic device 104 to the media device 102, an acknowledgement orhandshake operation may be performed between the electronic device 104and the media device 102. Thus, if an acknowledgement from the mediadevice 102 is received, or if a handshake occurs to exchange theappointment information, the appointment information is communicatedfrom the electronic device 104 to the media device 102. Additionally,the user may be notified at the sending electronic device 104 that theappointment information has been successfully communicated to the mediadevice 102. Also, the user may be notified that the media device 102will perform an automatic operation after the media device 102 hasreceived the appointment information, such as automatically recordingone or more media content events.

As disclosed above, a variety of automatic operations of the mediadevice 102 may be defined and/or performed by embodiments of thecalendar synchronization system 100 based on the received appointmentinformation. In some situations where media content events havepresentation times in conflict with the scheduled appointments, thesemedia content events cannot be watched by the user. Alternatively, oradditionally, these conflicting media content events cannot be recordedunless the user has manually configured to record any media contentevents of interest when received at the media device 102. Accordingly,embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 may be configuredto automatically configure the media device to record the conflictingmedia content events. For example, the calendar synchronization system100 may set record timers and/or specify channel or station identifiersto schedule a recording of a particular media content event. Any knowninformation may be specified so as to cause the media device 102 torecord a media content event.

However, one skilled in the art appreciates that it is not practical torecord every one of the received media content events that are inconflict with a scheduled appointment that requires the user to be at aremote location. That is, since the media device 102 may receive severalhundred, or even thousands, of different channels of media content, itis not practical to provide sufficient recording capacity in the DVR 510to record all received media content events. Further, in some mediadevices 102, the number of tuners 530 in the media device 102 may limitthe number of media content events that may be recorded. Accordingly,embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 employ afiltering process to identify and select particular ones of theconflicting media content events for automatic recording.

In an example embodiment, a user's list of favorite programs and/orchannels may be saved in memory 506, or may be available in anothermemory medium. In the event that sufficient recording capacity isavailable in the DVR 510 and/or if a sufficient number of tuners 530 areavailable, those conflicting media content events identified in theuser's list of favorite programs and/or channels are automaticallyrecorded (at least for those conflicting media content events that arehave not already been scheduled for recording by the user). That is, thecalendar synchronization system 100 retrieves, accesses, or looks up theinformation in the user's favorites list, and then automatically recordsthe conflicting media content events which are identified in thefavorites list.

In the event that the media device 102 does not have sufficient capacityin the DVR 510 to record all of the conflicting media content eventsidentified in the user's list of favorite programs and/or channels, thena prioritization scheme may be employed to automatically identify andrecord those conflicting media content events that are most likely to beof heightened interest to the user. That is, one or more higher prioritymedia content events may be automatically recorded, while lower prioritymedia content events are not recorded.

For example, the favorites list feature may provide a way for the userto specify or designate relative importance among a plurality of mediacontent events included in the user's list of favorite programs and/orchannels. The user may specify a priority number to each of the mediacontent events in their list of favorite programs and/or channels. Or,groups of media content events may be prioritized. The user specifiedprioritization information may then be saved in the calendar database522 or in another suitable memory location or medium for later use bythe scheduled appointment region 150. Then, in the event of a scheduleconflict, the highest priority media content events are recorded to theextent of recording capacity is available in the DVR 510 and/oravailable tuners 530.

Based on prioritization information, the calendar synchronization system100 may identify and select particular conflicting media content eventsfor automatic recording. For example, if the DVR has ten (10) hours ofrecording capacity available, then the durations of the highest priorityconflicting media content events are used to identify and thenautomatically record those highest priority conflicting media contentevents that can be stored without exceeding the recording capacity, or apredefined threshold capacity amount therein, of the DVR 510. That is,the calendar synchronization system 100 retrieves, accesses, looks up,or determines the priority information, and then automatically recordsthe highest priority conflicting media content events.

In the event that the media device 102 does not have a sufficient numberof tuners 530 available to record all of the conflicting media contentevents identified in the user's list of favorite programs and/orchannels, then the prioritization scheme may be employed toautomatically identify and record those conflicting media content eventsthat are most likely to be of heightened interest to the user. Forexample, if the media device 102 is configured with four tuners 530,then the four highest priority conflicting media content events may beautomatically recorded. In some embodiments, a media content event thathas been manually scheduled by the user for recording is assigned thehighest priority.

Alternatively, or additionally, embodiments of the calendarsynchronization system 100 may be configured with a learning function oralgorithm that may be used to identify most likely ones of theconflicting media content events that the user would like to haveautomatically recorded. In such embodiments, the historical viewinghabits of the user are stored and then analyzed to identify which mediacontent events the user is watching. When a conflicting media contentevent is identified as being a media content event of interest based onlearning the user's viewing preferences, then the start and end timesfor the scheduled appointments can be compared with the programpresentation times of those identified media content events. If aconflict between the presentation of one of these media content eventsoccurs with one of the scheduled appointments, the conflicting mediacontent event that has been learned to be of interest to the user can beautomatically recorded.

For example, the user may repeatedly watch a serial type of mediacontent event on a weekly and/or daily basis. Based on this historicalviewing pattern, the calendar synchronization system 100 may learn thatthe user has a preference for the identified serial type of mediacontent event. Once a preference of a particular serial type of mediacontent event has been learned, information identifying the serial typeof media content event is stored in the calendar database 522 or inanother suitable memory medium or location. As new calendar scheduleinformation is received, embodiments of the calendar synchronizationsystem 100 compare the received calendar schedule information with thedates and times of the identified serial type of media content events,and an automatic recording can be scheduled if a schedule conflict isidentified. For example, the user may consistently watch each episode ofa series of a particular media content event. If the appointmentinformation indicates such that the user will unable to use their mediadevice 102 when the next episode airs because of a scheduledappointment, then the next episode can be automatically recorded.

Alternatively, or additionally, embodiments of the calendarsynchronization system 100 may receive a media content eventrecommendation list from another electronic device that may be used toidentify recommended media content events that the user might like tohave automatically recorded. In such embodiments, the presentation timesof the media content events identified in the media content eventrecommendation list are compared with the start and end times of thescheduled appointments. When a conflicting media content event isidentified, that conflicting media content event identified in the mediacontent event recommendation list can be automatically recorded.

In some embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100, mediacontent events that are similar in subject matter, and/or that have thesame actors or other involved individuals, to the media content eventsof interest identified in the user's favorites list, that are identifiedduring the learning process, and/or that are identified in a mediacontent event recommendation list, are also identified as being mediacontent events of interest. In such embodiments, the presentation timesof these related or similar media content events are compared with thestart and end times of the scheduled appointments and are automaticallyrecorded if a conflict is identified. When a conflicting related orsimilar media content event is identified, that conflicting related orsimilar media content event can be automatically recorded.

Comparison between the scheduled presentation dates and times ofidentified media content events of interest with defined time periodsfor the scheduled appointments may be performed periodically, when newappointment information is received from one or more of the electronicdevices 104, and/or when updated or new EPG information is received atthe media deice 102. Thus, the calendar synchronization system 100 iscontinually monitoring and comparing scheduled presentation dates andtimes of identified media content events of interest with the user'sscheduled appointments to ensure that one or more automatic operationsare performed by the media device 102 as needed when conflicts areidentified.

Another exemplary automatic operation performed by embodiments of thecalendar synchronization system 100 is presentation of a graphicallisting of identified conflicting media content events. Identificationof conflicting media content events may be based on media content eventsthat are identified in the user's favorites list, that are identifiedduring the learning process, that are identified in a media contentevent recommendation list, and/or that are identified as related orsimilar media content events.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example GUI 702 that may be presented on thedisplay 136 to a user to indicate identified conflicting media contentevents and an associated conflicting scheduled appointment. The GUI 702indicates the identified conflicting media content events (Programs A-1,B-1, C-1, C-2) that are in conflict with an exemplary scheduledappointment (on Apr. 8, 2014, from 8:30-10:00 p.m.). The presentedidentified conflicting media content events may be identified from alarger number of conflicting media content events based on media contentevents that are identified in the user's favorites list, that areidentified during the learning process, that are identified in a mediacontent event recommendation list, and/or that are identified as relatedor similar media content events. The user specifies media content eventsfor recording by selecting the associated selection boxes for thoseconflicting media content events shown on the GUI 702.

If the user takes no action, or for those non-selected conflicting mediacontent events shown on the GUI 702, the user will simply misspresentation of those conflicting media content events since they willnot be recorded. In such embodiments, the calendar synchronizationsystem 100 stores in the calendar database 522 identifying informationthe non-selected conflicting media content events indicated to the useron the GUI 702. For example, a flag or other suitable identifier may besaved with a list of non-selected conflicting media content events. Whenthe non-selected conflicting media content events are received at themedia device, the identified non-selected conflicting media contentevents are not recorded. In some embodiments, the identifiednon-selected conflicting media content events are assigned a lowestpossible priority for recording such that they are not recorded whileother higher priority media content events are recorded.

Any suitable form of the GUI 702 may be used. Any number of identifiedconflicting media content events may be listed. If a relatively largenumber of conflicting media content events are identified, then multiplepages of the GUI 702 may be used to indicate these identifiedconflicting media content events the user.

The GUI 702 can be presented at various times to the user and/or whenone or more predefined events occur. For example, the GUI 702 may bepresented after a calendar synchronization occurs at the media device102 if the user is operating the media device 102 such that mediacontent is being presented on the display 136 (FIG. 5). Alternatively,or additionally, the GUI 702 may be presented when the user initiallyoperates the media device 102. Alternatively, or additionally, the GUI702 may be presented when the user actuates one or more designatedcontrollers 140 on the remote control 130. Alternatively, oradditionally, the GUI 702 may be presented after selection by the userof the prompt or graphical icon 154, a pop-up window, or the like thatis presented on the display 136. Alternatively, or additionally, the GUI702 may be presented when the user initiates presentation of an EPG.

In some embodiments, the user may be notified of identified scheduleconflicts with identified media content events that may be of interestto the user. For example, the GUI 702 may be automatically presented tothe user at some predefined time that is in advance of the scheduledappointment and/or at the time of the scheduled appointment.Alternatively, an EPG 148 (FIG. 1) with an associated scheduledappointment region 150 may be presented to the user at some predefinedtime that is in advance of the scheduled appointment and/or at the timeof the scheduled appointment. Or, a reminder icon, such as theselectable prompt or graphical icon 154 on the display 136, or anothersuitable indicator such as a pop up window or the like, may be presentedto the user at the predefined time in advance of the scheduledappointment and/or at the time of the scheduled appointment.

Although similar to conventional reminders, a difference is that theabove-described indications of a conflict between one or more mediacontent events and a scheduled appointment is that the appointmentinformation is received from an electronic calendar application residingin one or more of the electronic devices 104. Also, the above-describedappointment schedule conflict indications identify a plurality ofconflicting media content events that have been identified from a largernumber of conflicting media content events based on media content eventsthat are identified in the user's favorites list, that are identifiedduring the learning process, that are identified in a media contentevent recommendation list, and/or that are identified as related orsimilar media content events.

One skilled in the art appreciates that it is likely that multiple usersmay reside in a single residence or the like where the media device 102is located. That is, two or more users may be interested in coordinatingtheir scheduled appointments that they have entered into theirelectronic calendar applications that reside in one or more of theirelectronic devices 104. Accordingly, embodiments of the calendarsynchronization system 100 are configured to perform calendarsynchronizations with a plurality of electronic devices 104 used bymultiple users. When embodiments of the calendar synchronization system100 evaluate potential conflicts between scheduled media content eventsand a plurality of scheduled appointments for the multiple users,identification of conflicting media content events and/or specificationof automatic operations may be presented in a variety of manners byembodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100.

Some embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 areconfigured to identify a particular user that is currently operating themedia device. The user may be identified in a variety of manners, suchas, but not limited to, specification by the user of their useridentifier, specification by the user of an entry of a login code orpassword for that user, identification of the user by a facialrecognition algorithm that recognizes the user, identification of theuser by a biometric parameter that identifies the user, identificationof the user by a voice recognition algorithm that identifies the user,and/or use of a personal remote control which is used only by that user.

For example, a plurality of users may each have their own personal listof favorite media content events. A first one of the users may identifythemselves to the calendar synchronization system 100, and in response,the calendar synchronization system 100 analyzes scheduled appointmentsfor the first single user, and then presents information identifying theconflicting media content events and/or effect other automaticoperations for the first user.

Once a particular user is identified, those scheduled appointmentsassociated with the identified user are then analyzed by the calendarsynchronization system 100. In an example embodiment, conflicting mediacontent events are identified based on media content events that areidentified in the identified user's favorites list, that are identifiedduring the learning process for that particular user, that areidentified in a media content event recommendation list for thatparticular user, and/or that are identified as related or similar mediacontent events preferred by that particular user.

In some situations, one of the multiple users may be absent while one ormore of the other users are present. In these situations, embodiments ofthe calendar synchronization system 100 may analyze scheduledappointments for a selected or specified single user. For example, afirst user may want to review potential conflicts for a second user whois away on a trip or the like. Embodiments of the calendarsynchronization system 100 are configured to present informationidentifying the conflicting media content events and/or effect otherautomatic operations for that particular specified or selected user.

Alternatively, or additionally, multiple users may be concurrentlypresent during operation of the media device. In these situations,embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 may analyzescheduled appointments for the multiple users, or selected one of themultiple users, to identify conflicting media content events. Forexample, a first user and a second user may want to review potentialmedia content event conflicts for their scheduled appointments.Embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 are configured topresent information identifying the conflicting media content eventsand/or effect other automatic operations for multiple users.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example GUI 802 that indicates identifiedconflicting media content events and the identity of the users who areassociated with the conflicting media content events. That is, whenappointment information for a plurality of users is considered, andschedule conflicts with one or more media content events are identified,then the identity of those users and the conflicting media contentevents are indicated in the GUI 802. A particular user can be selectedon the GUI 802. Then, the calendar synchronization system 100 maypresent media content events of interest that may be in conflict withthe scheduled appointment for the selected user. For example, the GUI702 (FIG. 7) may be presented for the selected user. Alternatively, anEPG with a scheduled appointment region 150 thereon, such as illustratedin FIGS. 2-4 and/or 9, may be presented for the selected user. Theselected user, or even another user, may then take appropriate manualaction and/or the calendar synchronization system 100 may effect otherautomatic operations for the times of the scheduled appointment for theselected user.

Alternatively, or additionally, the appointment information for allusers may be considered in aggregate. That is, the calendarsynchronization system 100 may analyze scheduled appointments for allusers, and then present information identifying the conflicting mediacontent events and/or effect other automatic operations for all of theusers. In such embodiments, calendar synchronization requests aregenerated and transmitted to one or more of the electronic devices 104that are being used by the multiple users. For example, but not limitedto, a plurality of calendar synchronization requests are concurrentlygenerated and transmitted to all of the electronic devices 104 that arebeing used by the multiple users. Alternatively, or additionally, thecalendar synchronization requests are generated and transmitted to thoseelectronic devices 104 of an identified user. Alternatively, oradditionally, the various electronic devices 104 may communicateschedule synchronization information to the media device 102 when theuser enters or modifies a scheduled appointment, or modifies an existingappoint, using the electronic calendar application residing in one ormore of their media devices 104.

In some embodiments, conflicts for different users may be indicateddifferently to so that viewing users may intuitively appreciate whichuser will be in conflict with scheduled media content events. Forexample, different shading or fill colors, fill patterns, font types,and/or font colors may be used for scheduled appointment regions on anEPG to differentiate between different users. For example, but notlimited to, a blue fill color for scheduled appointment regions 150, 302(FIG. 3) may be used to identify schedule conflicts for a first user,and a red fill color may be used for another scheduled appointmentregion 150 to identify schedule conflicts for a second user. Suitableuser identifiers, such as a name or the like, may optionally be includedon a presented GUI 702.

Another exemplary automatic operation performed by embodiments of thecalendar synchronization system 100 is automatically enforcing aparental control limit based on the identity of the user having ascheduled appointment. For example, a first user may be a parent, andother users may be known to be their children. If the parent user isattending a scheduled appointment that requires the parent user to be ata remote location, then parental controls may be automatically enforcedduring the times of the scheduled appointment, or during a time periodthat begins before and/or that ends after the times of the scheduledappointment. In this example embodiment, a location of the scheduledappointment is determined from the appointment information received fromone or more of the electronic devices 104, wherein the location of thescheduled appointment is remote from the media device 102. Accordingly,a child user is not able to access inappropriate content while theparent user is away attending their scheduled appointment.

Another exemplary automatic operation performed by embodiments of thecalendar synchronization system 100 is a power conservation measure.When the user is not able to be present because they are attending ascheduled appointment that requires them to be at a remote location,embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 may power downselected components of the media device 102 or another devicecommunicatively coupled to the media device 102, may place the mediadevice 102 or other device into a standby mode, and/or may turn off themedia device 102 or other device, during the times of the scheduledappointment, or during a time period that begins before and/or that endsafter the times of the scheduled appointment. If multiple users areconsidered, then the power conservation mode can be made when each ofthe multiple users are concurrently remote from the media device 102.Here, embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 identifyconcurrent scheduled appointments for the multiple users. Accordingly,power is conserved while a user is away attending their scheduledappointment.

One skilled in the art appreciates that scheduled appointments whichrequire the user to be at a remote location such that the user is notable to use their media device 102 for presentation of media content mayrequire some duration (period of time) for the user to travel to thelocation of the scheduled appointment and/or to return from the locationof the scheduled appointment to the media device 102 location. Forexample the scheduled appointment may be for a meeting at the user'soffice. If the user is traveling from the media device 102 location tothe location of the scheduled appointment, an amount of travel time maybe required for such travel. Alternatively, or additionally, if the useris traveling from the location of the scheduled appointment to the mediadevice 102 location, another amount of travel time may be required forsuch travel. Further, the travel times may be different from each other,particularly if one of the travel times is during a period of heavytraffic congestion, and/or if one of the travel times is during a periodof no traffic congestion.

Embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 are configured toadjust the times of one or more of the automatic operations performed bythe media device 102 to account for the above-described travel times.These time adjustments which are made to the times of automaticoperations are referred to as travel time adjustments. For example, butnot limited to, if the user is attending a scheduled meeting appointmentthat requires the user to be at a remote location, and a half hour isrequired for travel to and from the meeting, embodiments of the calendarsynchronization system 100 may adjust the time periods that begin beforeand/or that after the times of the conflicting scheduled appointments bythe travel time adjustment of a half hour. Thus, if a scheduledappointment is from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., automatic operationsperformed by the media device 102 may be scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.and end at 10:30 p.m.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example situation wherein travel time adjustmentshave been made to the times of the scheduled appointments shown by thepresented EPG 148 of FIG. 2. The exemplary travel time adjustmentsinclude a one half hour travel time adjustment made to the beginningtime of 8:30 p.m. of the example scheduled appointment, and includes aone half hour travel time adjustment made to the ending time of 10:00p.m. of the example scheduled appointment. Here, the travel timeadjustments are shown separately with a first time adjustment region 902and a second time adjustment region 904 to help the user betterappreciate the effect of travel times to and from the example scheduledappointment that begins at 8:30 p.m. and ends at 10:00 p.m.

In some embodiments, the travel time adjustments are automatically madeto the scheduled times of scheduled appointments. Thus, the calendarsynchronization system 100 performs the analysis to identify anyconflicting media content events based on the adjusted times.Alternatively, or additionally, some embodiments may permit the user tospecify that the travel time adjustments are to be considered inidentifying conflicting media content events. For example, the selectionbox 906 may be selected by the user to indicate that travel timeadjustments are to be made to the scheduled times of scheduledappointments. The selection box 906 may also be used to inform the userwhether travel time adjustments have been made to the scheduled times ofscheduled appointments.

The times associated with one or more travel time adjustments may bespecified by the user in some embodiments. FIG. 10 illustrates anexemplary GUI 1002 that may be presented to the user to facilitate userspecification of travel time adjustments that are to be made to thebeginning and/or ending times of one or more scheduled appointments.Here, the user may specify durations that are to be added to thebeginning and/or ending times of the scheduled appointment times.Alternatively, or additionally, specification of the travel timeadjustments may be made by specifying specific times associated with aparticular travel time adjustment. The user specifications may be madeby the user based on their personal experience, or may be based on anestimation of travel times by the user or determined by anotherelectronic device. Further, the specified travel time adjustments beforethe start time and after the end time of scheduled appointments may bedifferent.

In the example GUI 1002, a first region 1004 is provided forspecification for beginning time adjustments. A second region 1006 isprovided for specification for ending time adjustments. The user mayenter a duration or a time in the appropriate entry spaces for anassociated scheduled appointment.

Alternatively, a “select all” region 1008 is provided such that a fixedduration, here one hour, is added to the beginning and/or ending timesof all of the indicated scheduled appointments in response to the userselecting (checking) the associated selection boxes 1010, 1012. Forexample, if the user selects the selection box 1010, then all of thebeginning times of the indicated scheduled appointments will be adjustedby the predefined duration of one hour. Alternatively, if the userselects the selection box 1010, then only the beginning times of theindicated scheduled appointments that have not been specificallyspecified by the user will be adjusted by the predefined duration of onehour. The selection box 1012 may be configured similarly to theselection box 1010.

In the example GUI 1002, the user has specified that a one hour traveltime adjustment is to be made for the beginning time and ending time ofthe June 10 appointment indicated in the GUI 1002. Here, the user'sselection of the selection box associated with the June 10 appointmentadjusts the times of the June 10 appointment by the predefined durationof one hour. Accordingly, embodiments of the calendar synchronizationsystem 100 will identify one or more conflicting media content eventsbeginning at 7:00 p.m. and ending at 11:00 p.m. on that date.

As another example, the user has specified that a fifteen minute traveltime adjustment is to be made for the beginning time and a one hourtravel time adjustment is to be made for the ending time of the June 17appointment indicated in the GUI 1002. Accordingly, embodiments of thecalendar synchronization system 100 will identify one or moreconflicting media content events beginning at 7:45 p.m. and ending at10:00 p.m. on that date. The user may specify the time adjustmentinformation using any suitable user interface device, such as the remotecontrol 130 or a keyboard, mouse, etc.

As another example, the user has specified that a twenty five minutetravel time adjustment is to be made for the beginning time by providinginformation into the associated region 1004 indicated in the GUI 1002.Further, the user has specified that no travel time adjustment is to bemade for the ending time of the June 18 appointment by not providinginformation into the associated region 1006 indicated in the GUI 1002.Accordingly, embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 willidentify one or more conflicting media content events beginning at 7:35p.m. and ending at 9:00 p.m. on that date.

As another example, the user may specify a specific time for a traveltime adjustment, such as for the ending time of the June 19 appointmentindicated in the GUI 1002. Accordingly, embodiments of the calendarsynchronization system 100 will identify one or more conflicting mediacontent events beginning at 8:45 p.m. and ending at 10:00 p.m. on thatdate.

The user has not made any travel time adjustment specifications for thescheduled appointment on June 21. Accordingly, embodiments of thecalendar synchronization system 100 will identify one or moreconflicting media content events beginning at 9:00 p.m. and ending at10:00 p.m. on that date.

In some embodiments, a prompt or graphical icon 154, a pop-up window, orthe like may be presented on the display 136 to indicate to the userthat selection will change presentation to the GUI 1002 which permitsthe user to specify one or more travel time adjustments. When the userselects the prompt or graphical icon 154, the pop-up window, or thelike, the GUI 1002 may then be presented to the user.

Some embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100 mayalternatively, or additionally, be configured to compute durations forthe beginning and/or the end durations of the travel time adjustmentsbased on a known or determined location of the scheduled appointments.Here, the known location of the media device 102 and the location of thescheduled appointment are compared to determine a separation distancebetween the known locations of the media device 102 and the scheduledappointment. Based on the determined separation distance, travel timeadjustment durations to account for travel time of the user can bedetermined there from.

The known location of the media device 102 may be determined fromaccount information, may be specified by the user, or may be specifiedby another party, such as the service provider or the like. The locationof the media device 102 may be specified as an address, as a zip code,and/or as coordinates of a suitable coordinate system, such as bylongitude and latitude.

Locations of the scheduled appointments may be determined in a varietyof manners. For example, the user may specify the location of thescheduled appointment using an address, zip code, and/or geographiccoordinates of a suitable coordinate system, such as by longitude andlatitude. Once the location of the scheduled appointment is specified bythe user, a separation distance between the known locations of the mediadevice 102 and the scheduled appointment can be determined by thecalendar synchronization system 100.

For example, but not limited to, if an address of the scheduledappointment is user specified, a travel route may be determined by thecalendar synchronization system 100 or another electronic application,and then the separation distance can be determined based on thedetermined travel route. Such processes of determining a travel routeand an associated separation distance are known to one skilled in thearts.

If the location of the scheduled appointment is not precise, such as ifthe location of the scheduled appointment is defined by a zip code, anapproximate separation distance between the known locations of the mediadevice 102 and the scheduled appointment may be estimated by thecalendar synchronization system 100. For example, estimations of theseparation distance may be based on a selected location of the region ofa known zip code, or may be based on computation of a geographic centerof the zip code. Once the geographic location of the zip code isdetermined, then the separation distance can be calculated there from.

Once the separation distance is determined, the time associated withtravel times for known locations of the media device 102 and thescheduled appointment can be determined. In some embodiments, the traveltime is calculated by the calendar synchronization system 100 based on apredefined rate of travel, such as in miles or kilometers per hour. Therate of travel may be predefined, may be specified by the user, or maybe specified by another party, such as the service provider or the like.The rate of travel is then multiplied by the determined separationdistance to determine the durations associated with travel timeadjustments.

The rates of travel may be adjustable. In an example embodiment, therates of travel may be increased if traffic congestion is likely. Forexample, but not limited to, the rates of travel may be reduced by fiftypercent from a predefined value if the travel is to occur during rushhour times. As another example, the rates of travel may be increased bytwenty five percent from a predefined value if the travel is to occurduring the evening hours and/or during a weekend.

Alternatively, or additionally, the rate of travel may be adjusteddepending upon the type of surfaces for the determined path of travel.For example, a thirty mile per hour rate of travel may be assumed if thedetermined path of travel is over residential surface streets, or fiftymiles per hour if the determined path of travel is over highways. Ablended rate of travel may be determined if the determined path oftravel is over varying types of travel surfaces.

Alternatively, or additionally, rates of travel may be adjusted based onprevailing weather conditions. The rate of travel may be decreased ifthe adverse prevailing weather conditions exceed a predefined threshold,such as a precipitation threshold, a temperature threshold, and/or awind speed threshold. For example, but not limited to, the rates oftravel may be reduced by fifty percent from a predefined value if thetravel is to occur during the winter and/or during a blizzard or a rainstorm.

Locations of a scheduled appointment may be inferred by embodiments ofthe calendar synchronization system 100 based on other availableinformation. For example, the supplemental information in the receivedappointment information may indicate an address of the scheduledappointment from which the location can be determined there from. Thecalendar synchronization system 100 may be configured to perform a keyword search on the text string of the supplemental information, and thenbe configured to recognize the name of streets, recognize likely addressnumbers and/or recognize a zip code.

In some embodiments, information from an address book, telephone book orthe like may be retrieved or accessed by the calendar synchronizationsystem 100 to aid in the identification of an address of the scheduledappointment. Here, the text string of the received supplementalinformation may be compared with the information from the address book,telephone book or the like. A match between an identified portion of thetext string of the received supplemental information and the addressbook, telephone book or the like would be used to define the location ofthe scheduled appointment.

Alternatively, or additionally, locations of a scheduled appointment maybe inferred by embodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100based on the names of other participants who are to be at the scheduledappointment and/or the name of a business where the scheduledappointment is to be held. For example, a name of a person or a businessmay be associated with an address from which the location can bedetermined there from. The calendar synchronization system 100 may beconfigured to perform a key word search on the text string to recognizethe names, and then be configured to use an address book, telephone bookor the like to aid in the identification of an address that matches withthe name of the person and/or business in a contact list or otherinformation list associated with the person or business. Alternatively,or additionally, the name/address information may reside in the memory506 of the media device. In some embodiments, the name and addressinformation may be saved at the electronic device 104, which thenincludes the information in the provided appointment information.

In some embodiments, the calendar synchronization system 100 may be ableto use the browser 524 (FIG. 5) to determine an address of the locationof the scheduled appointment based on an address associated with theInternet information returned to the browser 524 of the media device102. For example, the calendar synchronization system 100 may establisha connection from the media device 102 to the Internet. Using thebrowser 524 of the media device 102, the calendar synchronization system100 may search for at least one of a name of another person attendingthe scheduled appointment, a name of a business where the scheduledappointment is to be held, a phone number of another person attendingthe scheduled appointment, and a phone number of a business where thescheduled appointment is to be held. The Internet search results may bethen used to obtain the address or location of the scheduledappointment.

In some embodiments, the calendar synchronization system 100 may analyzesupplemental information describing characteristics about the nature ofa scheduled appointment. For example, if the nature of the scheduledappointment is characterized as a telephone call, then the calendarsynchronization system 100 may determine that little or no travel timewill be associated with the user attending the scheduled appointment. Incontrast, if the scheduled appointment is characterized as a meeting,then the calendar synchronization system 100 may determine that someamount of travel time will be associated with the user attending thescheduled appointment. Accordingly, a travel time adjustmentdetermination process as disclosed above may then be performed byembodiments of the calendar synchronization system 100.

As another example, if the scheduled appointment is characterized as ameeting of a particular type, then the calendar synchronization system100 may determine whether the scheduled appointment is likely to end atthe scheduled ending time. For example, the scheduled appointment may befor a school play that is likely to end at the scheduled time. Incontrast, the scheduled appointment may be for a cocktail party,birthday party, sporting event, or other social event that may or maynot end at the scheduled time. Accordingly, the calendar synchronizationsystem 100 may add a predefined time adjustment to the indicated endingtime of the scheduled appointment. The predefined time adjustment may bebased on a particular type of event characteristic. The calendarsynchronization system 100 may be configured to perform a key wordsearch on the text string to recognize the characteristic, and then usea look up table or the like populated with various durations andassociated event characteristics. For example, a half hour timeadjustment may be added if the characteristic indicates that thescheduled appointment is for a sporting event, such as a football orbaseball game. As another non-limiting example, a two hour timeadjustment may be added in the event is a evening cocktail party or adinner at a restaurant.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thecalendar synchronization system 100 are merely possible examples ofimplementations of the invention. Many variations and modifications maybe made to the above-described embodiments. All such modifications andvariations are intended to be included herein within the scope of thisdisclosure and protected by the following claims.

1. A method, comprising: receiving, at a media device, appointmentinformation from an electronic device, wherein the appointmentinformation is defined by a time period for a scheduled appointment fora user, and wherein the scheduled appointment requires the user to be ata remote location that is remote from a location of the media devicesuch that the user is unable to manually operate or use their mediadevice; and automatically modifying at least one operation of the mediadevice based on the received appointment information that is associatedwith the scheduled appointment.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinautomatically modifying the at least one operation of the media devicebased on the received appointment information comprises: automaticallymodifying presentation of an electronic program guide (EPG) to indicatethe time period of the scheduled appointment on the presented EPG. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein automatically modifying presentation ofthe EPG to indicate the time period of the scheduled appointmentcomprises: presenting a scheduled appointment region on the EPG, whereinthe scheduled appointment region overlays media content eventinformation of the presented EPG.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinpresenting the scheduled appointment region on the EPG comprises:presenting a first indicator line that coincides with a start time ofthe scheduled appointment and corresponding times of scheduled mediacontent events; and presenting a second indicator line that coincideswith an end time of the scheduled appointment and the correspondingtimes of the scheduled media content events.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein presenting the scheduled appointment region on the EPG comprisesfurther comprises: adding at least one of a fill shading, fill coloring,and fill pattern onto a portion of the presented EPG that is between thefirst indicator line and the second indicator line.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the added at least one fill shading, fill coloring, andfill pattern is partially transparent so that textual informationdescribing media content events that are presented on the EPG is visibleto the user.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein presenting the scheduledappointment region on the EPG comprises further comprises: presentingtextual information on the EPG that describes media content events thatare at least partially bounded by one of the first indicator line or thesecond indicator line using one of a bold font or a colored font,wherein the bold font and the colored font are different from font usedto present textual information on the EPG that is outside of the firstindicator line or the second indicator line.
 8. The method of claim 2,wherein automatically modifying presentation of the EPG to indicate thetime period of the scheduled appointment comprises: presenting textualinformation describing the scheduled appointment on the EPG.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein automatically modifying the at least oneoperation of the media device based on the received appointmentinformation comprises: automatically adding a textual description of thescheduled appointment on a presented electronic program guide (EPG) onlywhen a time period encompassed by the presented EPG coincides with thetime period of the scheduled appointment, wherein the textualdescription of the scheduled appointment is not presented when the timeperiod encompassed by the presented EPG does not coincide with the timeperiod of the scheduled appointment.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereinautomatically modifying the at least one operation of the media devicebased on the received appointment information comprises: automaticallyscheduling a recording of at least one media content event that isscheduled for presentation during a time that is coincident with thetime period of the scheduled appointment, wherein the at least one mediacontent event is recorded when the at least one media content event isbeing received at the media device.
 11. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising: identifying the at least one media content event that isscheduled for recording based on a user's list of favorite programs orchannels.
 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising: monitoringmedia content event viewing by the user; identifying a plurality ofmedia content events that are preferred by the user based on themonitoring; and identifying the at least one media content event fromthe plurality of identified media content events that are preferred bythe user.
 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising: identifyingthe at least one media content event from a plurality of identifiedmedia content events based on a priority associated with each one of theplurality of media content events, wherein the plurality of mediacontent events have been identified based on at least one of a user'sfavorites list, a learning process, a media content event recommendationlist, and a related or similar media content event, and wherein the atleast one media content event that is scheduled for recording has apriority that is higher than others of the plurality of media contentevents that are not scheduled for recording.
 14. The method of claim 1,further comprising: communicating a calendar synchronization requestfrom the media device to the electronic device, wherein the calendarsynchronization request includes at least one of user information andpassword information that is used to access an electronic calendarapplication of the electronic device, wherein the electronic calendarapplication has the appointment information that describes the user'sscheduled appointment, and wherein the electronic device returns theappointment information to the media device in response to receiving theat least one of the user information and the password information in thecalendar synchronization request.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein theappointment information received from the electronic device includesinformation that is associated with a location of the scheduledappointment, and further comprising: determining the location of thescheduled appointment; determining a separation distance between thelocation of the media device and the determined location of thescheduled appointment; determining a travel time associated withtravelling between the location of the media device and the location ofthe scheduled appointment; and adding the determined travel time to atleast one of a start time and an end time of the scheduled appointment,wherein the automatically modified at least one operation of the mediadevice is based on the determined travel time that has been added to atleast one of the start time and the end time of the scheduledappointment.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the receivedappointment information includes a textual description of a name ofanother person attending the scheduled appointment, and whereindetermining the location of the scheduled appointment comprises:determining the location of the scheduled appointment based on anaddress associated with the name of the other person attending thescheduled appointment.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the receivedappointment information includes a textual description of a name of abusiness where the scheduled appointment is to be held, and whereindetermining the location of the scheduled appointment comprises:determining the location of the scheduled appointment based on anaddress associated with the name of the business where the scheduledappointment is to be held.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein thereceived appointment information includes a textual description of aphone number of another person attending the scheduled appointment or ofa business where the scheduled appointment is to be held, and whereindetermining the location of the scheduled appointment comprises:determining the location of the scheduled appointment based on anaddress associated with the phone number.
 19. The method of claim 15,wherein the received appointment information includes at least one of atextual description of a name of another person attending the scheduledappointment, a name of a business where the scheduled appointment is tobe held, a phone number of another person attending the scheduledappointment, and a phone number of a business where the scheduledappointment is to be held, and wherein determining the location of thescheduled appointment comprises: establishing a connection from themedia device to the Internet; searching the Internet, with a browser ofthe media device, for information pertaining to at least one of the nameof the other person, the name of the business, the phone number of theother person, and the phone number of the business; and determining anaddress or the location of the scheduled appointment based on an addressassociated with the Internet information returned to the browser of themedia device.
 20. A media system, comprising: a presentation deviceinterface configured to communicatively couple to a display; aninterface configured to receive appointment information from anelectronic device, wherein the appointment information is defined by atime period for a scheduled appointment for a user, and wherein thescheduled appointment requires the user to be at a remote location thatis remote from a location of the media device such that the user isunable to manually operate or use their media device; a memory havingelectronic program guide (EPG) information stored therein, wherein theEPG information includes, for each of a plurality of scheduled mediacontent events, at least a scheduled presentation date, a start time,and an end time; and a processor system communicatively coupled to thepresentation device interface, the memory and the interface, andconfigured to: generate an EPG using the EPG information stored in thememory; and automatically modify presentation of the EPG to indicate thetime period of the scheduled appointment on the modified EPG, wherein afirst indicator line is presented on the modified EPG that coincideswith the start time of the scheduled appointment and the correspondingtimes of the plurality of scheduled media content events, and wherein asecond indicator line is presented on the modified EPG that coincideswith the end time of the scheduled appointment and the correspondingtimes of the plurality of scheduled media content events.